Ex-Canaan Exec Links 10% Bitcoin Hashrate Drop to Xinjiang
Bitcoin’s estimated network hashrate declined by about 10% in a single day on Sunday, with former Canaan co-chairman Jianping Kong attributing the drop to shutdowns of roughly 400,000 mining machines in China’s Xinjiang autonomous region.
In a post on X on Monday, Kong said the network’s hashrate fell by about 100 terahashes per second (TH/s) since Sunday. He linked the decline to “at least 400,000 machines” going offline, based on an assumption of 250 terahashes per application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) miner.
The claims could not be independently verified. Kong previously served as co-chairman of a Chinese Bitcoin mining ASIC manufacturer.
Data from YCharts shows the hashrate decreased from 1,053 TH/s on Sunday to just under 943 TH/s on Monday, a loss of over 10%, or 110 TH/s. The network’s total hashrate is an inferred estimate from network metrics and cannot be measured with precision.
China’s shifting role in Bitcoin mining
China historically accounted for a large share of Bitcoin (BTC) mining activity—about 65% of hashrate before 2021—until authorities moved to halt domestic mining that year. In 2024, operations have re-emerged across the country. October data from the Hashrate Index estimates China’s share at about 14% of global mining, while CryptoQuant places it between 15% and 20%.
Late last month, Reuters reported that both individual and corporate miners are tapping low-cost electricity in China despite the ban. Commenting on the recent shutdowns in Xinjiang, Kong said that “the US wins without lifting a finger.”
US ramps up push for Bitcoin mining leadership
Kong’s remarks come as US-based Bitcoin mining capacity continues to expand. At the end of August, Hut 8 said it would build four new mining sites in Texas, Louisiana and Illinois, adding 1.5 gigawatts of capacity.
Hut 8 is the parent of American Bitcoin, a mining and treasury firm associated with the Trump family, which went public through a merger in early May. The company’s board includes Eric Trump, the second-eldest son of US President Donald Trump.
In late November, reports indicated that Bitmain, a leading China-based producer of Bitcoin mining ASICs, is under investigation in the United States over national security concerns, including whether hardware could be remotely controlled to surveil or disrupt the US power grid. Any resulting measures could also affect the Trump family, as American Bitcoin acquired 16,299 Antminer U3S21EXPH units from Bitmain.
In October 2024, US authorities opened an inquiry into Xiamen Sophgo, a Chinese chip designer linked to Bitmain, over an alleged relationship with US-sanctioned Huawei. A month later, the US Customs and Border Protection Agency halted deliveries of thousands of Bitmain ASICs, and authorities began releasing the equipment in March.
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